2019, Nathan, Ganesh, Gianni, Robert, Pearson, John, Reber, Bernard

There is growing interest in and importance of responsible research and innovation (RRI) among academic scholars and policy-makers, especially in relation to emerging technologies such as nanotechnology. It is also to be noted that, although the design-thinking approach has been around since the 1960s, there is renewed interest in this approach to innovation with an increasing number of related publications over the last couple of decades. Furthermore, it is currently introduced in a number of schools and community projects. However, there is a gap in bridging the design-thinking approach to RRI, and this chapter attempts to address this need.

2018-07-27, Nathan, Ganesh, Gianni, Robert, Pearson, John, Reber, Bernard

There is growing interest and importance for responsible research and innovation (RRI) among academic scholars and policy makers, especially, in relation to emerging technologies such as nanotechnology. It is also to be noted that, although the design thinking approach has been around since 1960s, there is renewed interest in this approach to innovation with an increasing number of related publications over the last couple of decades. Furthermore, it is currently introduced in a number of schools and community projects. However, there is a gap in bridging design thinking approach to RRI and this chapter attempts to address this need.

2015, Nathan, Ganesh, Coutinho de Arruda, Maria Cecilia, Rok, Boleslaw

This paper attempts to provide some directions for re-theorizing the firm from a socio-political perspective to underscore how the purpose of the firm is rooted in our societal life, and hence a notion of well-being and social justice of stakeholders gains significance rather than wealth creation for shareholders as the sole purpose of the firm. This paper concludes that such an approach has some implications for responsible governance through stakeholder deliberation for social justice.

2014, Nathan, Ganesh, Bastos de Morais, Jean-Claude, Stückelberger, Christoph

The aim of this article is to illuminate certain morally contentious links within technological innovation and to put forward some recommendations for ethical innovation.

2019, Bradly, Andrew, Nathan, Ganesh

This paper aims to introduce the concept of institutional CSR and explains its antecedents, key characteristics and the potential implications arising from private firms providing public goods and services in developing economies.

2016, Nathan, Ganesh, Coutinho de Arruda, Maria Cecilia, Rok, Bloeslaw

The recent global financial and economic crisis has prompted calls for more regulation of corporations, even a sort of nationalized capitalism. Moreover, increasing awareness and evidence of climate change caused by human activities also demand eco-sensitive regulation and international protocols. Both these concerns, together with the still ubiquitous poverty in our post-modern society, are challenging the sustainability of global capitalism in pursuit of wealth creation and profit maximization, and questioning the activities and behavior of firms in terms of responsibility, accountability, and the role of leadership. However, opponents of overregulation fear that it may lead to nationalism and protectionism and therefore stunt the innovation, free market enterprise, and competition that are conducive to economic prosperity. Moreover, they claim that overregulation imposes a huge cost of compliance on the state and ultimately on society. Against this background, this chapter attempts to show that we should rethink the purpose of the firm, not only from an economic perspective but also from a sociopolitical perspective to re-theorize the firm for responsible governance. Although the quest to rethink the purpose of the firm and capitalism is not new (see O’Toole and Vogel 2011), this paper attempts to provide some plausible arguments from an interdisciplinary approach to rethink the purpose of the firm and the implications of re-theorizing the firm.

2015, Nathan, Ganesh

In general, innovation governance models, which deal with organizational structure, innovation process, strategy and leadership, are becoming increasingly important for innovative companies for effective innovation management. Moreover, responsible innovation (RI) as a topic among academic scholars and policy makers is gaining importance, in order to address some of the ethical concerns and dilemmas as issues of governance in general and with special reference to technological innovations. This article attempts to show that technological innovation processes require a circular RI process instead of a linear one with embedded ethical decision-making framework for ethical innovation governance.

2018-11-24, Nathan, Ganesh, Bradly, Andrew

Purpose This paper aims to introduce the concept of institutional CSR and explains its antecedents, key characteristics and the potential implications arising from private firms providing public goods and services in developing economies. Design/methodology/approach The paper conceptualises institutional CSR using key insights from institutional theory along with legitimacy theory. It integrates the antecedents of CSR at the state and society levels and shows how firms may respond to these antecedents within an integrated institutional CSR framework. Findings The paper derives six distinct characteristics of institutional CSR and presents a conceptual model to inform how institutional CSR occurs in practice. Practical implications This paper brings to the attention the need for private firms that undertake institutional CSR activities to engage more closely with the state to ensure better societal outcomes. Social implications The paper identifies the importance of resource coordination between the state and the firm for the efficient and effective provision of public goods and services. Without such coordination, moral hazard, resource imbalances and long-term viability concerns pose a risk for institutional CSR activities. It furthermore highlights important implications for societal governance. Originality/value The paper makes an important contribution to the literature on CSR practices within developing economies by conceptualising institutional CSR in providing public goods and services.

2015-02-23, Nathan, Ganesh

This article, opens, briefly clarifying paradigms of essentialism and non-essentialism (also known as anti-essentialism) and shows evolving dimensions of dominant models of culture, namely, Hofstede (5), Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (7) and Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) (9) – referred to as the paradigm of 5-7-9 cultural dimensions in this article that tend to essentialize culture. This can lead to ethical concerns restricting the capacity of agency for choice and identity, which are necessary for the democratization of organizations. It then presents a model of culture within the paradigm of anti-essentialism, adapting the model presented by Nathan (2010), within the topic of multiculturalism based on Dilthey’s works on social interactionism and meaning in history, shows that the model can pave the way for the democratization of organizations and discusses the implications of organization culture in terms of agency, identity, and structure within multinational/multicultural organizations. This article concludes by encouraging further research, possibly within Critical Management Studies (CMS) along with qualitative research methods, to enhance the non-essentialist model of culture within organizational studies.

2014-01, Nathan, Ganesh